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R. L. HARRIS. I v METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR GONSTRUOTING- FOUNDATIONS. No. 538,073.

(No Model.)

Patented Apr. 23, 1895.

THE "cams Putin c0 PHOTO-L|1HD.. WASHINGTON, n c.

, confined below the deck and between the UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

ROBERT nnAnnis, on NEW YORK, N. Y.--

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR CONSTRUCTING FOUNDATIONS SPECIFICATION forming part oi Letters Patent No. 53B,073,dated April 23, 1895.

Application filed June 15,1894. sens No. 514,696. (No made.)

To all whom it may-concern."

Be it known that I, ROBERT L. HARRIS ;-a

citizen of the United States, residing in the city, county, and State ofNew York, have inventedan Improvement in Methodsof and Apparatus for Constructing Foundations, of which the following is a specification.

Caissons have been made use of in putting down foundations forpiers,bridges and buildlugs, such caissonsha-ving a deck and downwardly projecting edges that pass into the soil as" the caisson settles, and the material inclosed between the downwardly projecting edges and beneath'the' deck has been excavated by hand, and the water has been partially excluded by atmosphere under pressure downwardly projecting sides, and in some inthat has been excavated upwardly througha suitstances the material has been discharged a'ble pipe or conduitby the accumulated'ai-r 'forth in the aforesaid a circulation of water pressure, but it is often dangerous for men to work in this spaceand exposed to the heavyatmospheric pressure.

, in Letters Patent 'No. 461,771, granted to me December 8, 1891, a method is set forth of obtain ng circulation between separate pipes and consolidating loose materials by passing water through the materials from one pipe to another and then introducing cementing material.

fThe present invention relates to a method 0 son so as to allow the same to sink,--by which I am enabled to make use of the method set patent for establishing between one pipe and another for' the loosening and removal of sand, mud or other substance and thereby excavate the material beneath the caisson without the necessity of sending men into such space; and after the caisson has been sunk to the desired depth, cementing material may be filled into the same by introducing such cementing material through the pipes before mentioned, thus avoiding the danger to life where men have been heretofore employed beneath such caissons and under an excessive atmospheric pressure, and at the same time lessening the expense rials beneath such caisson and allowing the same to be sunk to any desired depth.

removing the material from beneath a caisof removing the mate- In' the drawings, Figure 1 is a plan, and Fig.

2 a verticalsection through acaisson being sunk by'my improved method. Fig. 3 is a section ona larger scale representing the downwardly projecting side of the caisson; and- Fig. 4 is a diagram illustrativeot' the introduction 9f cement.

The deck A of the caisson or root is of any desired size or shape, and it is to be built in such a manner as to obtain the necessary strength and stifiness according to the size and the circumstances under which it is made use of. The downwardly projecting edges B -are usually V-shaped, the outer surfaces being substantially vertical so that a cutting edge is formed at the bottom of the respective sides, and the inner inclined surfaces of these downwardly projecting edges act to deflect and sont-he sand, mud caisson descends.

' I distances apart pipes shownat D'E F, and

press toward the middle of the caisor other material as the pass down through the deck A at suitable these pipes are advantageously arranged so that usually the pipes D are near the'edges of the caisson, and the pipes E F are near the middle portions of the caisson, and the pipes B may bedown'-take, and the pipes E F are usually up-take, all of these. pipes passing through the deck of the caisson and opening below the same; and it is-now to be understood that water is to be forced-down the pipes D and either exhausted or allowed to tiow up through the pipes E F, andin seldoling channels are established between therespective pipes and below thedeck-of the caisson, and according to the material that is acted upon, so more or to be forced down the pipes D and to rise-up through the pipes E and F less water will be required and convey with the water the solid materialsfrom beneath I the caisson and thus excavate below the cais-- son and allow it tests}: from time to time as the materials are removed from below the same, soil, so that" the water will be passed down either of the pipes and the'materia-ls will pass up through either of the other pipes.

The down-take pipes D may simply open beneath thedeek vertically or be slotted near their ends to direct the stream of water laterally, or they may be provided with elbows or according to the character of the subnozzles either stationary or adapted to be rotated so as to project the issuing jets of water'upon the material to be softened and to pass up the uptake pipes, and the currents of water are to be projected or act in such a manner as to remove the material below the caisson with uniformity to maintain the deck of the caisson in the proper level condition, and such caisson is to be suitably loaded so as to cause it to sink by gravity, or any desired force may be applied in addition.

Under some circumstances the superstructure will be built upon'the caisson and will form the weight that is made use of in carryiug the caisson down, and the superstructure may be built with a wall G of brickwork or other material which will leave the interior of the structure above the roof of the caisson sufficiently hollow for the necessary. work to beperformed, and this wall may be made use of in keeping out the surrounding water in structures that pass down below the level of the water in the soil, or that may be above the soil in submarine structures, such wall being laid up water-tight; but usually a shell or inclosing crib will be provided, as at H, which rises above the deck of the caisson and is sufiiciently strong to resist external pressure, and the same may be bolted or secured to the caisson as at 3, so as to be disconnected and removed if desired after the caisson has been sunk to the required depth and the su-' per-structure has beenbuilt thereon.

Where the soil or material into which the caisson is to be sunk is liable to contain logs, bowlders or other obstructing material, it is advantageous to make the downwardly projectingedges B hollow and of suitable steel or iron frames, as represented in Fig. 3, with exterior and interior skins 4 and ,5 so as to produce hollow chambers that may be filled with water to obtain additional weight in causing the caisson to sink by'gravity, and upon the inclined inner surfaces of the downwardly projecting edges B, doors or flaps 6 are provided at suitable distances apart or so as to extend all aroundthe caisson, such doors be-- ing hinged at thetrnpper edges 7 so as to open inwardly and downwardly of the caisson, and they may be secured by books or other fastenings 9. These doors usually remain shut in consequence'of the pressure against them from below the caisson and they will rest against the framework within the edges, but in case a log or similar obstruction may be met with beneath the cutting edge 9 of the caisson, (the fact may be ascertained in any usual manner such for instance as the passing down of/a rod or plate outside the edge of the caisson,) and when the obstruction is located, the particular chamber to which the obstruction is adjacent may be closedand water forced into the chem her after unfastening the door and the door forced open by an increased pressure of water so that a suitable cutting or drilling tool may be passed from above through the opening between the lower edge of the door and the cutthrough the up-take rials around the same ting edge 9 so as to drill, chop, disintegrate or otherwise break up the obstruction and allow the same to pass into the cavity beneath the caisson and be removed in'any suitablemanner if necessary.

It will be understood that by the before described improvements the earthy materials can be washed out from beneath the caisson and delivered upwardly even though bowlders, logs or other loose materials may accumulate beneath the caisson or be driven down by the same as the caisson sinks. When the desired depth has been reached, cementing materials may be introduced through the respective pipes D E F until the entire space beneath the caisson is filled in and consoli dated. It is of course to be understood that the cementing materials introduced through one pipe will displace the water beneath the caisson, and that this water will pass upwardly pipes so as to give opportunity for filling in the entire space beneath the caisson with cementing material. In cases however where the sand, gravel or other materials beneath the caisson are sufficiently solid and compact for supporting the superincumbent weight, it is only necessary to allow the caisson to settle until the proper depth has been reached, the materials beneath the caisson filling up the space below the deck in consequence of the weight upon the deck caus ing the materials to firmly consolidate.

In sinking the caisson, should any obstruction be met with, either beneath the cutting edge or at any place beneath the deck, the location of the same having been determined, a jet of water may be directed toward such obstruction so as to loosen the earthy mateand allow such obstruo tion to settle by gravity from time to time as the caisson descends, but should the same be found to obstruct the work, it may be broken or removed as aforesaid or'rn any convenient manner according to the character of the obstruction.

In sinking a caisson if the surrounding ma terials are of a binding character, such for instance as a stratum of uicksand, and such exterior materials interfere with the proper sinking of the caisson, the up-take pipes may be closed, and the water take pipes will gradually find its way upwardly between the exterior surface of the shell and the surrounding earthy material so as to lessen the binding force thereof and allow the caisson to sink.

This invention is especially available in sinking foundations for light-houses, piers and similar structures where great depth is often necessary, but it maybe employed to advantage in the erection of buildings, because by sinking a caisson in the manner before mentioned with a shell or by building up I the superstructure as the caisson sinks, the adjacent materials are supported and a su fficient pressure may be maintained beneath the caisson to prevent extdrior materials passing be-- bridge forced into the downseems a low the cutting edges of the caisson, and thereby the settling of surrounding buildings may be efiectually prevented.

The walls or deck of the caisson may be single or of two or more thicknesses, and of wood, iron, steel or other suitable material, and the cutting edges may be made in any desired shape.

I claim as my invention- 1 The methodherein specified of making foundations for buildings and other structures, consisting in placing a caisson with downwardly projecting edges in the position required for the foundation, providing numerous pipes passing through. the deck of such-caisson and directing currents of water through one or more of such pipes and through the earthy materials below the deck of the caisson to com mingle with such earthy materials and force the same up one or more of the other pipes by the accumulated pressure below such caisson thereby providing for the removal of the earthy materials as required be- :ueath any portion of such caisson without requiring air pressure or air locks, substantially as set forth.

2. A caisson having downwardly projecting edges and a closed deck adapted to receive the foundation of a building or other structure, in combination with numerous water pipes passing through such deck and opening foundations for buildings and other struct ures, consisting in removing the earthy materials from beneath the caisson by the circulation of water, and then filling in the spacebelow the deck of the caisson by-cementing material introduced through pipes, substantially as set forth.

4. A caisson having a deck and a downwardly projecting edge made of a metallicv framework and a substantially vertical exterior skin and an inclined interior skin below the deck and one or more doors in the inclined part of the interior skin and hinged at their upper edges so as to be capable of being opened downwardly at their lower edges nearthe cutting edge of the caisson to give access from between the skins to any obstruction which may be encountered by the caisson as it sinks, substantially as set forth.

Signed by me this 13th day of June, 1894.

ROBERT L; HARRIS. Witnesses:

' GEO. T. PINOKNEY,

A. M. OIJIVER. 

